Category: Toronto

Being Nimble

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Today’s image is from my first model-related shoot using something other than medium/large format, or digital. This shoot, taken outside Massey Hall in downtown Toronto, was done with two 35mm cameras. The shot below was taken with an Olympus XA, one of the smallest full frame 35mm cameras ever made. Except for a hair-trigger shutter release, this camera is a joy to use. I’ll feature an image taken with the other 35mm camera in a future post.

Sarah Silver

(Olympus XA 35mm rangefinder camera, Ilford Delta 400 film developed in HC-110 dilution B for 7.5 minutes, post production using NIK Silver Efex Pro 2)

Alone

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Today’s image was taken at the fountain in the middle of the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto. It was taken with a Nikon F2 35mm camera (and I think with a zoom lens). It’s normally pretty busy around the fountain, but at this moment, at least on this side of the fountain, this man was alone.

Alone

Against the Grain

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Another image from a roll sitting around for sometime waiting to be developed. In this case, a roll of 35mm Tri-X black and white shot late last summer in Toronto with my Nikon F2 (body since sold as part of a gear rationalization, since I have an F3 body as well).

Since this was shot on 35mm high speed film, grain is inevitable, and in comparison to decades ago when photographers would do everything in their power to minimize grain (in part as a response to shooters who didn’t take the 35mm format seriously), many film shooters now don’t mind the grain. It’s a badge of authenticity, and has a special character, especially when compared to digital noise. It is ironic that people spend money on Photo shop plug-ins to recreate this grain. I like the real thing 🙂

Street Performer, Dundas Square, Toronto

Teamwork

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Today’s photography is from a shoot on Sunday, December 18th. In addition to the model, I was working with a hair stylist, make-up artist, and clothing designer (who was running the shoot). It was an interesting experience, and I learned a lot. Shooting film certainly does put the pressure on to “get it right”, since there is no immediate feedback (as in digital)! Film was perfect for the look, in my opinion. I scanned the negative, and added a bit of toning and glow in post-processing.

Toned

Shot with Mamiya M645 camera, 80mm f2.8 lens, Ultrafine 400 Xtreme film, developed in Xtol 1:1 for 14 minutes.

In Contrast

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I finally got around to developing a roll of Delta 100 black and white film I had shot with “The Beast” (my Pentax 6×7) over the last few weeks. I like this image because it shows a contrast in architectural styles in downtown Toronto. I am also thinking of another contrast: with a roll of film that waits a while before being developed, it is easy to forget what images are on the roll, and hence I get a pleasant surprise. No such experience in the digital world of instant gratification.

Contrasting Architecture

From a Distance

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I find when shooting people I always like to get in close. This is normally the way to go when taking people pictures, but it is important to also be able to take pictures from some distance, to make the background and setting a more important part of the image. This is what I was trying to do in this image, taken last weekend at HarbourFront in Toronto, in gorgeous late afternoon light.

From Cosplay photoshoot, Toronto harbourfront

Mirror, Mirror

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If you stand say five feet away from a mirror and focus on your reflection with a  manual focus the lens will focus not to a distance of five feet, but rather 10 feet. Even though the mirror is a flat two-dimensional surface, optically the virtual space behind the mirror must be accounted for. I remember being amazed when I learned this fact many years ago. Mirrors have always seemed otherworldly to me.

This image is a reflection in a polished metal sculpture in downtown Toronto, and is a heavy crop from a much large frame. For me it still has the magic of a mirror though.

Reflection in sculpture

Everyday Item

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I’ve walked past this fire hydrant many times on the way to work, and always found it interesting, because of its texture and symmetry. I took this picture with a Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR and 50mm f2 lens, a combo I got on eBay for not much more than the price of a couple of disposable cameras! It is the beauty in my recent Beauty and the Beast post. It’s a lovely camera to hold and use.

Fire Hydrant #1

Understanding

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Today, another picture in my Women and Cameras series, but with a difference: up until now my subjects have all been either models or friends/acquaintances. Today’s subject Natalie not only is a photographer in her own right, but also collects and uses vintage cameras (as does her fiancé!) The camera featured in the image below, a Yashica 124G Twin Lens Reflex is one of three of her own she brought to the shoot.

Just by the way she is holding it, and looking at it, she is clearly showing that she understands the image-making potential of this fine camera, and the magic of film.

Natalie and her Yashicamat 124G

Something Different

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I’ve posted a lot of rather soft-focus pictures featuring attractive models recently, so time for something different. On the recent holiday Monday (Simcoe Day in Toronto) I went down early to one of the Toronto Transit Commission streetcar maintenance yards with my Mamiya M645J, loaded with Rollei Pan 25, a very sharp, fine-grained film. It was a bright morning, but even so with this slow speed film I needed a tripod to get the sharpness I wanted.

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